Riding Is My Game
by Hope and love
Summary: Taryn is a small town girl, who just so happens to train Ranger horses. When she is asked by Crowley to come to the Gathering to teach some apprentices she meets Gilan who somehow manages to worm his way into her heart. GilanOC
1. Prologue

**Go easy on me this is my first Fanfic and I don't own any of the Ranger Apprentice except for the books that I have bought.**

**Updated 12/12/12**

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><p>Taryn looked across the pasture with an excited glance. Today she would begin training of the new batch of colt's and filly's'. The pasture was scattered with young, energetic horses just waiting to be trained and given to either a new apprentice or an existing Ranger that needed a new horse. The horses that did not pass the training or were to slow would be retrained and sold to farmers or nobles in the surrounding fiefs.<p>

As Taryn started walking to the barn to begin the morning feeding, she noticed a figure riding towards her. Recognizing the figure as a Ranger, she stopped and waited for him to approach.

"Tayrn Gallagher?" The Ranger asked as he came level with her.

"Yes, sir. That me, can I help you with something Ranger..?"

"Crowley." The Ranger provided his name.

"Crowley." Tayrn recognized the name; he is the commander of the Ranger Corps.

"Can I help you with something Ranger Crowley, sir" Replied Taryn.

"Yes, I have a job I want you to do." The Ranger said. "I would like you to come to this years gathering and supervise this years graduates on their last lesson involving each of their horses.

Taryn looked at him with a surprised look on her face. "Um, well I was just about to start training the new group of 3 year olds today. When is the Gathering?" She asked with a reluctant tone in her voice.

"In three weeks time, I would be sending a Ranger to meet with you at the cross roads just a few miles up the road from here." Replied Crowley.

"Um, ok, I think I should be finished with some of the training by then and could be able to let my assistant handle the rest. How long would I be gone and what time am I to meet him?" Asked Taryn.

"You would be go about a week, give or take a few days, depending on how each graduate does on their tests. You will also have to be at the cross roads just after dawn, it's a long ride to the Gathering and you will need to be blindfolded for the last hour or so." Crowley said looking down at her to gage her reaction to this new development.

"Why do I need to be blindfolded?" Taryn asked the grizzled Ranger.

"Because we Rangers like to keep our Gathering in a secret spot." Crowley said.

"Ok then, I guess I'm going to the Gathering." Taryn said quietly.

"Good. I'll see you there." And with that Ranger Crowley wheeled his horse around and cantered back towards the road that led to the next town.

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><p><strong>Updated and revised 1212/12. Also I hope I clarified why Taryn is going to the gathering and she is also my OC.**


	2. A Feeding And A Discussion

**AN: I would like to point out that I will be fixing the spelling errors in the first chapter. Thanks to my one and only reviewer kellyhorse. Again I don't own anything of the Ranger Apprentice saga. The only thing I own is Taryn and anything that you don't recognize. And know on to the story.**

**Updated 12/11/12: Just revised a few things in this chapter, I should be doing this to all the chapters so just hang in there. And thanks for reading!**

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><p>After Ranger Crowley disappeared from sight, Taryn let loose a sigh of impatience. '<em>I never have enough time.' <em>She thought as she started walking toward the barn. Opening the big double doors of the barn, she noticed her best friend and partner in crime, Jackson Conwell. Having known Jackson since her apprenticeship she wasn't surprised to see him at the barn before herself.

"Late again?" Jackson asked not even looking up from the bridle that he was oiling already knowing it was her.

"I was going to be on time this morning for once, but I was stopped by the Ranger Crowley." Replied Taryn as she crossed the length of the barn to reach the feed room.

Jackson finally glanced up from the finished bridle, "Ranger Crowley? Isn't he the commander of the Corps? What did he want with you, a lowly peasant girl turn horse trainer?"

"Ha Ha, very funny Jack, and yes he is by the way. He wanted me to come supervise the graduates this year, I really don't know why, as far as I knew the ranger apprentices all where suppose to be trained in riding by their mentors. I didn't really ask Crowley why he would want me and not old Bob; he normally does all the introductions between the horse and the new rider. We just train the horses and then pass them of to him for the finishing touches."

"Maybe Old Bob is sick or doesn't want to go this year, I don't know either" said Jack, walking over to the rack and hanging the finished bridle up before going to help her with the buckets of grain.

"Maybe Jack, maybe." Taryn replied with a grunt as she lifted one of the many feed sacks.

"Or maybe Ranger Crowley wants a refresher course done. You know how those Rangers are with their skills. Always practicing and trying to make it better." Jackson offered a grin as he followed Taryn out the door to the path that lead to the pasture gate.

"Whatever the reason being, I'm going to need you to help with the training while I'm away. Crowley said I would be gone about a week, maybe 10 day." As Taryn said this she stopped in front of the gate to the pasture and let loose a shrill two note whistle.

"Ouch, I wish you would warn me when ever you get ready to do that." Jackson complained, wincing from the sound and rubbing his ear at the same time.

"It gets your attention, so why should I warn you just so you can ignore it later." A smirking Taryn said as she waited to hear if the horses where coming. Soon enough the thunder started as eighteen horses in the pasture came running to be the first one to get fed.

"When is this Gathering?" asked Jackson as he fended of a feisty 4 year old trying to get the grain before he had put it in the feed trough.

"In three weeks time." Taryn said softly.

"THREE WEEKS! You'll never be done with even the basics in three weeks." Started Jackson. Not wanting to listen to a lecture on how to manage the time and training of sixteen 3 year olds, Taryn shot Jackson a glare the shut him up real quick.

"That's why I need your help with the training. I'll take eight and you take eight. I figured you would want the five geldings, so that leaves you with only three mares, and I'll train the rest." Concluded Taryn as she finished dumping the last of her buckets into one of three feed troughs in the pasture.

Glancing over at her best friend, she could see him thinking about the plan. After about 5 minutes of the only sound being the happy munching of grain, Taryn spoke up "Does that sound ok Jack?"

"Aye, I think it will be ok, I'll just have to rearrange my schedule a little to work the training times in, but I think it will be just fine. And thanks by the way for giving me the geldings to work with." Replied Jackson after a second or two.

"Your welcome. I remembered that you preferred to work with them verses the mares." Taryn said with a smile.

"Speaking of work, which horse are you taking to the Gathering?" Jackson asked while he rubbed the nose of the horse next to him.

"I hadn't really thought of it until know. I was thinking of taking Tonalea, she hasn't been worked in a while and actually doing something would be good for her." Replied Taryn. "But King's Storm also needs a little bit more experience as well, oh I just don't know who to take."

"So why don't you take both, you can put your belongings on King's Storm and ride Tonalea there and then on the way back switch the jobs, that way they both get worked." Offered Jackson.

"Jackson your brilliant! That way I won't have to worry about slacking off on Storms training and progress, and Tonalea will still get to be used." Taryn stopped and turned to give Jackson a hug before returning to the barn.

"Ya well, just doing my job to keep you happy and thanks again about the geldings. While this bunch is eating why don't we catch some breakfast as well. I'm starving." Jackson said trying to hint that he was hungery.

"Jackson. You're always starving." A laughing Taryn replied.

"Hey that's not true…." Taryn shot him a look. "Ok well maybe it is." He grinned sheepishly. Putting the buckets back in the feed room, and gathering up the empty grain sacks to put in the corner to reuse, Taryn stared back towards the cabin that Jackson and she shared. Glancing over at Jackson she asked, "So Mister Starving, what are we going to have for breakfast?"

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><p><strong>AN: another chapter done. I decided to end here because I just could not figure out what to write about next. Hopefully the next chapter will be up by the weekend. And once again any and all reviews are welcome! Thanks for reading hope you enjoyed it.<strong>


	3. Finalizing The Trip

**AN: So I just want to say that when you see **_This, this is horse talk._ _**This is thoughts.**_** Also I own nothing other then Tayrn, Jackson, and the horses that you don't know. I don't own any of the Rangers Apprentice. And enjoy the next chapter.**

**Updated 12/11/12**

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><p>The sun reflected in Taryn's eyes as she looked across the pond that she was letting her horses drink out of. It had been a success couple of weeks. Working with the eight 3 year olds and also worrying about the gathering, had her running around in circles. Also helping Jackson repair two of the multiple saddles that had to be fixed and making a trip into town to pick up some more grain and leather straps had taken up any free time she had.<p>

Waiting for the horse she was on to finish drinking she deciding to rest here for a bit long to give the two horses a break. Looking around the clearing she noticed that the surrounding forest was peaceful, just the way she liked it. It showed the world in a different way then the village that was down the road. It was raw and full of life that didn't care if you were a woman in a profession full of men. It was relaxing with the hot sun falling through the leaves of the trees at the edge of the clearing and Taryn decided that if she ever wanted to live somewhere other than in the cabin she shared with Jackson that this would be the place to live.

As she dismounted her horse she left the rein loose so he could graze if he wanted to. Staying by the side of the horse she untied the lead to the 3 year old that she was teaching and let it drop so she could eat to if she chose to.

Ahlerich looked at her and you could practically hear him say '_Do you think Amethyst did well?' _

"I think Amethyst is doing fantastic. Why? Do you think she need some more ponying time?" Taryn responded as she scratched behind his ears in his favorite spot.

'_I think she needs to learn to follow and not try to lead.' _ Snorted Ahlerich as he leaned into her hand.

"Well that will come in time Ahlerich. What about when I was training you? You didn't think that you needed to follow and not lead. As I recall you thought that you should be the boss." Taryn scolded for a second as she reminded him of his younger years and his training.

'_I suppose your right, but I think that she might be a little to hotheaded to be a Ranger horse.' _He huffed his reply and then lowered his head to snatch up a tasty looking clump of grass that he had his eye on for the last 5 minutes

'_Well I think that you are a bossy sour old hag'_ Amethyst said glancing over at Ahlerich, then trotted away to eat closed to the water where the grass was the greenest.

"Amethyst be nice, you still have a lot to learn and you, Ahlerich, you may be done with your training by you still haven't been chosen to be a Ranger horse yet so you need to be quiet." Taryn said as she looked between the to horses.

Laughing inside because this conversation was not new by far. In fact she had had this conversation with many of the horses that she had trained, all of them thinking that they were better than the other. What made her laugh was that in about two years when she would be making her rounds with Jackson to check on all the horses that finished their training and were accepted as Ranger horses their mind set would be totally different. Glancing up at the sun to gage the time she figured that is was almost six in the evening. Quickly calculating the time it would take to ride back to the barn she estimated it would be around half past seven. Evening feeding was at eight; she would be cutting it close to be back at the barn and rub down the horses before it was time to start feeding with Jackson. Calling both horses back over she picked up the lead to Amethyst and mounted Ahlerich and started of at a canter to cover ground faster. '_**I wonder if Ranger Crowley realized that he never told me which Ranger he was sending?' **_Tayrn wondered as she cantered along the forest trail.

'_Don't worry about Miss Taryn. I'm sure the ranger will realize it sooner rather than later.' _ Amethyst told her.

Glancing back at Amethyst, Taryn smiled "Thanks Amethyst."

'_Not a problem, but could we maybe pick up the pace?'_ Laughing Taryn signaled Ahlerich to move in to a gallop. Racing through the trees Taryn and the two horses made it back to the barn in record time. Giggling as she brought Ahlerich to a walk, she saw Jackson talking with a man by the barn door. Jackson saw her and signaled for her to dismounting when she got to the hitching post. Doing this she walked up leading the two horses.

"Hello Jackson, and who is this?" Taryn asked when she reached the two men. Glancing between the two.

"Taryn this is Ranger Halt. He is the Ranger that Crowley was going to send to meet you at the cross roads." Jackson said as he introduced the two. Glancing from Jackson to look at the Ranger that stood across from her, she noticed that he was very grim and serious.

Extending her hand in welcome Taryn said, "Welcome to our farm Ranger Halt. It's nice to meet you."

Shacking her hand Halt replied, "Good to meet you too. When Crowley told me I was escorting one of our horse trainers to the Gathering this year I figured it would be Ol'Bob. Then I find out you're the trainer he was talking about. I've heard great things about you from Ol'Bob. One of them being that you helped trained Abelard."

"Um yes, he was the first horse I trained. It was during my apprenticeship. How is he doing for you?" Taryn asked.

"Very good, one of the best horses I've had." Halt replied.

Taryn could barely detect a hint of pride in his voice. Glad that one of the horses she had trained was doing well, Taryn invited Halt in for coffee and to further discuss the meeting in a week's time. Gladly accepting, Halt followed Taryn into the cabin as Jackson called after them saying that he would go ahead a take care of Ahlerich and Amethyst, and then start the feed and for her to take her time discussing the details of the upcoming trip.

"So do you know why it's me that was pick to come to the gathering this year and not Old Bob?" Taryn asked, once she and Halt were sitting at the table sipping the coffee she had made.

"Crowley figured it would be nice to give Ol'Bob a break, he's been working farly hard this year and Crowley is suspecting that he's thinking about retireing, normally a new trainer would be pick months before the gathering but Crowley only just decided what he was going to do." Halt replied after taking a long sip of the still steaming coffee.

"Oh, that's nice of Ranger Crowley. Is there anything I should bring other than myself and my training equipment?" Taryn asked leaning back in her chair and relaxing.

"No, Will my apprentice and I are going to be providing the food for the duration of the Gathering" Halt said after a few seconds.

"Okay. Now tell me Ranger Halt, how many apprentices am I going to be supervising?" Taryn asked, needing to know how many so she could come up with a testing program to fit the amount of people that she was going to teach.

"Call me Halt. There are going to be three that will be taking their test to graduate this year." He replied after thinking about it for a minute or two.

Falling into a comfortable silence Taryn and Halt enjoyed the last of the coffee before Halt stood up and thanked her for the coffee before heading back to Redmont. Wishing him a good evening Taryn headed back out to the barn to find Jackson.

"Hey you, did you finalize everything with Halt?" Jackson asked upon seeing her round the corner of the barn.

"Yup, everything is ready to go. " Taryn said reaching to pet one of the 3 year old that came up to the fence. "How did the feeding go?"

"Good, they're behaving much better and waiting patiently for you to dump the feed in, rather than pushing and shoving. So that's an improvement." Jackson replied reach over and petting the little stocky horse's nose.

"This is one of your horses isn't it?" Taryn asked continuing to be the small bay gelding.

"Yup, he's coming along nicely. Almost ready to start ridding him." Jackson said with a smile "He's showing real promise. I think he will pick up the advanced training real quick."

"That's good. What are you going to name him?" Taryn questioned.

"I was thinking about the name Flame or something similar." Jackson replied.

"I like Flame, I think it suits him." Taryn agreed with him.

"So have you finished the saddle that Mr. Bower ordered?" Taryn asked walking back with him to the barn to start the cleaning before she and him headed in for the night.

"I almost have it finished, just need to do a little bit more work on the tree before I put the finishing touches on the leather." Jackson said as he handed her a broom and started picking up the leather pieces he had been working on before Halt had showed up.

"I could help you out if you want? And don't forget that you need to pick up the slack in the training with the other eight horses." Taryn reminded him as she started sweeping all the hay and dust into a pile.

"Yeah that would be great, you're better at the detailing then I am, and yes I remember that I have to pick up the slack. Do you have anything specific that you want me to do with them while your gone or do you want me to just keep working on basics?" Jackson asked as he finished putting up the leather pieces and crossed the length of the barn to grab a shovel so that he could pick up the pile that Taryn had made.

"No, other than Amethyst, she still needs work in following on a trail and not rushing ahead. She keeps wanting to be the lead horse and needs to learn to follow and not try to be the leader all the time." Putting the broom back in the corner. She grabbed the bucket that was sitting there and went to set it by Jackson.

"Ok, I'll work her with Meric, he should put her in her place really quick, you know how he is." Jackson laughed as he said this, thinking of the old retired Ranger horse that had an attitude problem towards young horses.

"I kind of wish I could be here for that. It would be a sight to see." Taryn laughed along with Jackson at the thought.

After finishing up the cleaning of the barn Taryn and Jackson left and did a final check on all the horses in the three different pastures to make sure everybody was doing fine. Deciding that everyone was good, they headed back to the cabin to go to bed. It was going to be a busy next week, and they needed all the rest they could get.

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><p><strong>AN: Wow four pages, the most I've ever written. Hope you guys like it. Please read and review. <strong>


	4. Off To The Gathering

**AN: I want to thank my one and only reviewer from last chapter Ranger Lauren.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Rangers Apprentice. I only own the figures of my imaginations and delusions. :) And now one to the story!**

**Updated 12/11/12**

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><p>It was still dark when Tayrn woke with a discontent sigh. Glancing out the open window in her room she estimated that it was still two or more hours till dawn. <em><strong>'Why can't I just for once have a restful night's sleep'<strong>_ She wondered as she lay there in her bed studying the dark room around her. Deciding that she was never going to be able to go back to sleep, she reached across her bedside table to light the candle sitting there from last nights evening planning. Said evening planning was what she was so worried about and causing her to have a fitful nights sleep. She had never really supervised another human being before.

After lighting the candle she grabbed her old riding cloak and left the room to enter the main room of the cabin. Unknown to her and Jackson the lay out of their cabin is very similar to the layout of a Rangers cabin. Going over to the stove to get the fire going again, she started some coffee. Deciding that it was still to early to go out to the barn and get pack for the upcoming trip that day, she waited for the coffee to finish and walked out on to the small porch that she and Jackson like to sit on, if the weather is fair and nice.

"I wonder if the apprentices will listen to me? I hope I won't like sound too much like a bossy young girl. I mean I'm only like one maybe two years older than the oldest apprentice."She spoke out loud, talking to herself.

"I think that if they don't listen to you that their going to have hell to pay when you start training them, and they learn that it's not as easy as it looks" Jackson said from where he was standing in the door way with a 'I'm still asleep' look on his face and bed head.

"What are you doing up? You're never up this early." Asked Taryn with a surprised look on her face.

"Normally I would still be in bed snoring away, but I smelled coffee and it woke me up. Then I came out here to investigate the smell and find the front door wide open and you talking to yourself." He replied after taking a seat in the other chair on the porch.

"Oh yeah sorry about that. I'm just worried and nervous about today and how the apprentices are going to take being supervies by someone only a few years older than them." Taryn confessed to him as she waited for her coffee to cool a little bit more before taking a small sip.

"I think that you'll do just fine. Besides how hard can it be to supervise and evaluate three people how to do a little fancy riding?" Jackson counseled her.

"It really shouldn't be that hard, I mean they already know how to ride and all of their horses have had this kind of riding done on them before. I mean the horse are all taught from the get go that this kind of riding is expected." Taryn reasoned.

"Right so no worry's, ok?"

"Right no worry's."

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><p>It was almost noon and Taryn had just gotten to the cross roads, when she spotted Halt and what looked like a teenage boy coming up the road that lead to Redmount.<p>

"It's nice to see you again Halt, and this must be Will." Taryn greeted once the two Rangers where within earshot.

"Yes this is Will, my apprentice. Will this is Taryn Gallagher; she's going to be doing the evaluations in riding this year." Halt said introducing the two and explaining to the obviously energetic and enthused teenager.

"Wow, what kind of evaluations?" Will asked with wide and eager eyes.

"Oh you know just the normal things that a ranger should be able to do with their horse, whether or not they are being taken care of properly and what not." Taryn replied with a kind smile already liking the young man beside her.

"So know that we are all here let's head out. Taryn, I'll let you know when it's time for you to be blindfolded." Halt said, as he signaled Abelard into a trot. Following Halt's lead Will and Taryn fell in slightly behind and beside Halt, Taryn having a little bit of difficulty because she was leading an extra horse behind her.

Will had noticed the extra horse finally decided to ask about him. "Why do you need two horses?"

"Oh, I'm just continuing the training of these two." Taryn replied with a grin.

"Why don't you just ride one and leave the other at home and work him when you get back." Will asked another question.

Taryn glanced over at Halt and could faintly notice a slight frown on his face. "I'm riding this one because she needs the work and the other one is still in training, if I just left one at home and worked them latter, who's to say that I won't forget to work them when I get back. By doing it this way they both get worked and it saves me some time." Taryn concluded.

"You see will horse trainers are constantly training and working their horses, much like we rangers are always working in our own skill set." Halt said affectively ending that topic of choice of the young apprentice.

That day passed relatively quickly with Will asking Taryn many questions about what she did as a trainer of ranger horses. Answering as many as she could and also asking some though not as many as Will. Taryn learned that this would be Will's first Gathering.

Finally Halt pulled his horse to stop and turned in the saddle to face Taryn saying, "This is where you have to be blindfolded. It will only be for an hour or so as we make the final trek into the forest."

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Taryn accepted the piece of material that Will had taken out of his saddle bag and handed over to her. After tying the blindfold in place she felt Halt take the lead rope the she had attached to her horse saying, "Will take the lead for the grey and I'll lead Taryn." Will responded with an "ok" and reaching over between the two horses untied the lead that trailed back to King's Storm.

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><p><strong>AN: So the trip to the Gathering is almost done and I've finally established a timeline in correlation to the books. I know it's a short chapter but I'm really tired and I only decided to write because I couldn't go to sleep but not I'm uber tired it like 1:30 AM. I never stay up this late. Anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to hear from you.<strong>


	5. The Joke And The Gathering

**AN: Ok here's the next chapter. Hope everyone had a nice weekend, mine was great, hung out with my brother and new niece then went to a ropes course on Sunday. I own nothing but my own characters; I don't own any of the Rangers Apprentice series, and now on to the Story.**

**Updated 12/11/12**

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><p>Letting Halt lead Tonalea, Taryn sat quietly waiting for Halt to tell her that it was ok to take of the blindfold. As the hour wore on Halt noticed that Taryn was getting antsy.<p>

"You'll be able to take the blindfold off soon." He told her has he led them around a corner in the trail.

"Hopefully that time will be soon, because if not I fear that I'm going to ripe it off soon!" Taryn exclaimed with a sense of hope. Will chuckled, he too was wondering when they would get to the Gathering, glancing over at Halt he thought he saw a grim smirk but if he did it was gone before he could even identify it for what it was.

"Are we nearly there?" Will asked, for perhaps the tenth time since they had blindfolded Taryn. Halt gave a small sigh of exasperation. Other than that, he made no reply. Taryn sensed that Halt was getting aggravated with the young boy so she tried not to ask again about how much longer not wanting to upset the Ranger.

Smelling something in the air Will asked, "What's that smell?"

"It's Salt. We're getting close to the ocean." Halt answered briefly then refused to elaborate any further.

"You can take the blindfold off now Taryn." Halt said as he paused to let her do just that.

"Finally." Taryn said as she pulled the piece of material off and then passed it to Will. Taking the offered lead rope from Halt Taryn unclipped it and put it back in her saddle pack and picked up the reins. Will handed her back the lead for King's Storm and trotted up till he was level with Halt.

"Are you looking for something?" Will asked when he got level with him.

Halt turned in the saddle to look at him and said, "Finally, a useful question. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. The chief Ranger will have sentries out around the Gathering Ground. I always like to try to fool them as I'm approaching."

"Why?" asked Will. Taryn glanced at Halt and saw him give a tight little grin.

"It keeps them on their toes." He explained. "They'll try to slip behind us and follow us in, just so they can say they've ambushed me. It's a silly game they like to play."

Taryn grinned with expectation; she tried to picture Halt and the other Rangers playing this game and mentally said, _**"now that would be a sight to see."**_ Signaling that they should get moving again, Halt lead the way.

"When will we…" Will began, but was suddenly cut of by Halt holding up a warning finger in silence. Will stopped speaking instantly. Halt's head turned slightly to listen, Taryn was tempted to ask what he was listening for but one look between the to Rangers and she kept her mouth shut, following after the too.

"Hear it?" Halt asked Will and Taryn both craned their heads to listen. Taryn didn't hear anything but she could tell that Will had heard something.

"Get ready to change gaits Taryn." Halt instructed her. "On three, One, Two, Three." Simultaneously, they all nudged their left toes into the horses' shoulders. It was just one of many signals that Taryn had taught to many Ranger horses including Abelard. Instantly all the horse hesitated in their stride. They seemed to skip a pace, then continued in their even gait.

Finally hearing what the two Rangers had heard Taryn picked up the sound of another horses hoof beats, then a quickly she heard it, it was gone.

"It's a Ranger horse." Taryn said.

"It'll be Gilan, for sure." Halt finished after looking at Taryn.

"How can you two tell?" Questioned Will looking back and forth between Taryn and Halt.

Taryn replied slightly faster than Halt saying, "Only a Ranger horse could change his pace as quickly as that."

"Taryn rights and it'll be Gilan because it's always Gilan. He loves trying to catch me out."

"Why" Will asked and Halt shot him a stern look.

"Because he was my last apprentice." He explained. " And for some reason, former apprentices just love to catch their former masters with their breeches down." Halt looked accusingly at Will.

Taryn tried to smuggle a slight giggle from escaping her mouth. Halt signaled for silence, and scanned the trail ahead of them. Then he pointed, "That's the spot there," he said. "Ready?"

"Ready for what?" Taryn questioned. Halt didn't answer her just continued riding down the road. As they got closer to the place that Halt had indicated. Taryn saw Will study the spot, then nod to Halt before slipping his feet out of his stirrups and rose to a crouch on his horses saddle. When they got close enough Will reached up and swung himself up into the branches.

Observing the two, Taryn watched with a sense of pride when Tug started to pace more vigorously, forcing his hooves into the ground with each step so that there would be no sign to a tracker behind them that his load had suddenly lightened. Halt was watching her as she did this and gave her a slight nod when she looked up and caught his eye. When she and Halt reached the next bend Halt signaled Tug to keep going and for her and him to stop. When he swung down from Abelard and dropped to his knees to study the ground around them Taryn sat patently in her saddle waiting to see how this 'game' would play out.

Tayrn was startled when a voice suddenly said "Halt, Halt!" Halt turned and rose slowly to his feet, brushing the dirt from his knees as he rose.

"Well, Gilan," he called, "I see you're still making that old joke."

The tall figure that seemed to be this Gilan that Halt had been talking about shrugged and replied cheerfully, "The joke appears to be on you this year, Halt." Tayrn kept quiet as she watched the two of them exchange banter.

"Really, Gilan? And what joke would that be, I wonder?"

Taryn could see the amusement that was evident in Gilan's voice as he replied to his old teacher. "Come now, Halt. Admit it. For once I've got the best of you, and you know how many years I've been trying."

Halt rubbed one handover his grizzled beard as Taryn kept glancing between the two. "It beat's me why you keep on trying, Gilan, as a matter of fact."

Gilan laughed. "You should know how much pleasure it gives an ex-apprentice get the better of his old teacher, Halt. Now come on. Admit it. This year, I've won."

Halt hadn't moved from his position and Taryn could see Gilan start shifting his weight uneasily from one foot to another. Taryn could tell that because of Halt's unperturbed manner of the whole situation was beginning to bother Gilan. She suspected that Halts next words confirmed her suspicions. "Ah, yes . . . apprentices and masters. They're a strange combination, all right. But tell me Gilan, my old apprentice, aren't you forgetting something this year?"

Taryn picked up the stressing on the word 'apprentice', and from what she could tell so had Gilan; his head began to turn, searching for the Will. All of a sudden a black shaft hissed through the air past the tall Ranger and thudded, quivering, into the tree next to Gilan. Taryn couldn't help but laugh at the tall Rangers look of surprise on his face.

"Come down Will," Halt called. "And meet Gilan, one of our more careless Rangers." He shook his head at Gilan. "I told you when you were a boy, didn't I? Never be too hasty. Don't rush into things."

Gilan nodded as he glanced over at Will who dropped to the ground from the lowest branch. "It appears," he said, "that I was so intent on catching myself an old gray fox that I over looked the small monkey hiding in the trees and the beautiful young minx riding with them." He grinned at his own mistake, while he stared up at Taryn.

"Monkey, is it?" Halt said gruffly. "I'd say he's made a monkey out of you today. Will this is Gilan, my former apprentice and now Ranger of Meric Fief, although what they did to deserve him is beyond me. Taryn I'd like you to meet Gilan, Gilan this is Taryn she's coming to the Gathering to evaluate the graduates this year in their riding techniques." Halt introduced the two young adults.

Gilan's grin widened and he held his hand to Will, then glanced up and did the same with Taryn only instead of shaking hers, he kiss her knuckles. _**"He's not to bad on the eyes."**_ Taryn though as she blushed and pulled her hand back and watched as the three men continued talking.

"Could you perhaps teach me how to move like that? It was brilliant." Will asked.

Gilan laughed ruefully. "Not too brilliant, I think. You obviously saw me coming from a long way away."

Taryn decided to focus more on how she would evaluate the graduate's verses listen to the handsome Ranger converse with the young apprentice.

Startled from her thinking by a whistle, Taryn glanced up to see a horse trotting around the bend in the road. Taryn couldn't help but admire the way the ranger swung up on his horse. _**"He is really tall and lanky, I wonder . . .? No Taryn don't think like that. Remember you're here to evaluate the apprentices not ogle tall Rangers." **_Taryn was pulled out of her thoughts when Gilan rode up beside her and asked her what fief she was from.

"I'm originally from Araluen Fief but since my apprenticeship ended I've set up a horse farm in the north of Whitby." Taryn replied glancing over at him to see his reaction. Gilan smiled when he caught her eye. Taryn felt her heart skip a beat.

"We're almost to the Gathering." Halt said as he watched as his former apprentice and the young horse trainer talk. He couldn't help but think that they looked, dare he think it or even say it, cute together. Wondering where it might end up he left the two alone. The two looked up when they heard him and smiled in acknowledgement. When they rounded the last bend in the trail and came upon the Gathering clearing Taryn couldn't keep from saying to herself "Wow."

"Yeah, it really is a sight to behold." Gilan smiled as he watched her reaction to the busy clearing.

"It's very impressive." Taryn replied with a grin as she watched two apprentices working on setting up a campsite while their Ranger mentors supervised them.

Upon closer inspection Taryn could make out an Archery range on one end of the clearing and in the center was what looked to be a command tent. As she and the others made their way into the clearing they noticed a group of Rangers standing by the tent. Then one detached from the group and running to a horse waiting just outside the circle the figure mounted and spun the horse on his back legs, setting out through the camp at a gallop, heading for a narrow track on the other side of the clearing.

"Something's wrong. Gilan, Will, why don't you two go find a campsite, and take Taryn's other horse with you. Taryn, you and I are going to go report to Crowley, he'll tell you when and where you're going to set up for the tests." Halt interrupted the Ranger and the Trainers thoughts as he instructed them on what to do.

Taryn follow Halt as he led the way to the command tent. Dismounting she told Tonalea to stay and turned to follow the older Ranger into the tent. Finding Crowley leaning over a low table that was covered with papers, Halt stopped and waited for him to finish talking to another senior Ranger. Crowley finished and then turned to Halt and motioned for him to follow him. Crowley then turned to her and did the same.

"Halt, Miss Gallagher, I'm afraid that we have a bit of a problem. Halt I need to speak with you privately. Miss Gallagher would you mind waiting here for a few minutes?" Crowley turned and addressed them when they were out of hearing range of the other Rangers that where milling around. Nodding Taryn waited till Crowley had finished talking with Halt. When Halt left the tent he came back over to her and motioned for her to sit on one of the many low stools around the low table.

"Miss Gallagher." Crowley started only to be interrupted by Taryn.

"Please call my Taryn" She interrupted.

"Taryn. I'm sorry to tell you this but the Gathering is going to be rather short this year. Because of this new development that I can't share with you, the testing's have been canceled. Once again I'm sorry. Another Ranger will escort you back to your farm. Halt, Gilan and Will are being sent on a mission and I can't spare them to take you back home." Crowley finished as he motioned for another Ranger to come over.

"Okay, maybe next year?" Taryn said as she followed Crowley's lead in standing to meet this new Ranger.

"Taryn I'd like you to meet Mark. Mark is the Ranger assigned to Whitby so he will take you home. Maybe we can work out for you to come again next year." Crowley introduced her to a medium build middle age man.

Mark shook her hand and said "Nice to meet you ma'am. Follow me; we will leave in the morning."

"Wait I need to go get my other horse from Gilan." Taryn said as she walked out of the tent into the sunshine.

"Ok, I'll follow you and then take you over to my campsite." Mark replied.

Taryn took Tonalea's lead and started walking over to where she could see Gilan and Will sitting and talking with Halt. Walking up to them they went silent when they saw her.

"Halt said that the Gathering had been canceled" Gilan said when she and Mark reached them. Mark nodded as Taryn reached to take the lead for King's Strom that Gilan offered.

"Yeah, Ranger Mark is going to take me home in the morning. It was nice meeting you Will and you too Gilan. Take care on whatever mission you are going on." Taryn nodded to the men as she made to follow Mark back to his campsite.

"Wait Taryn." Gilan called after her.

"Yes?" She questioned. "

Um, I um, was wondering if I could come by sometime and see this farm that you talked about." Gilan replied sheepishly.

"Ya I'd love to show you around the farm." She smiled at him.

"Ok then." Gilan smiled at her too, then turned back to Halt and Will to get ready for the mission.

"So you and Gilan huh?" Mark questioned Taryn once they got settled at his campsite.

"What do you mean 'me and Gilan'?" Taryn looked at him with a surprised look on her face.

"You and he look good together." Mark went on.

"There is not me and him, we just meet for the first time today." She argued.

"I'm just saying" Mark continued preparing supper as he kept glancing at her. Taryn decided to not read into this any more and went to check on her horses.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok that was a long one. My fingers are hurting. Hope you guys enjoy this one. Please let me know if you have any feedback.<strong>


	6. Going Home, But Not The Way You Think

**AN: Hey sorry for not updating sooner, I got slapped with a ton of homework, Quizzes and Tests. College was not fun this last week. I had no time to write at all, so I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Ranger Apprentice series. I own nothing but my own characters.**

**Updated 12/11/12**

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><p>It was still dark when Mark woke Taryn up. Whispering so as to not wake the other<p>

Rangers near by he said "Hurry and saddle your horses, we'll eat breakfast on the road."

Nodding her understanding Taryn stood up out of her blanket and bent down to roll it up. Finishing with that she walked over to Tonalea and King's Storm to saddle them and get ready to leave. Wondering if Gilan, Will and Halt had left yet she tried to gaze through the darkness to see their campsite.

As her eyes adjusted to the dark morning she could make out where their campsite had been. Seeing that they must have left she turned away and continued her task in getting ready to leave. Leading Tonalea and riding King's Storm she rode over to where she could make out Mark sitting on his horse and talking with someone.

Reaching Mark she heard Crowley's voice say, "They left late last night"

Mark replied with a concerned voice "Will they be able to find them?"

Hearing Taryn approach Crowley didn't answer Mark's question instead turned to address Taryn. "I apologize for the inconvenience it may have caused you, especially with the timing. Seeing as you have ranger horses to train. "

"Thank you for the concern Ranger Crowley, but I have a assistant who took up the slack in the training process."

Nodding in understanding, Crowley then turned again and addressed Mark. "You won't have to blind fold her on the way back, Halt and I talked about it and decided she's trust worthy. After all she does train our horses." He looked at her and winked.

"Does this mean that I'm coming back next year?" Taryn questioned.

"Yes, I would like you to come back next year, hopefully you'll be able to actually do the tests. Halt brought up the idea of you also teaching the other Rangers a more advance class in riding techniques, if at all possible." He turned to her as he was telling.

"Aye, I'd love to work with all the Rangers." Taryn replied willingly.

"Great, then it's settled, I'll have Mark or Halt meet you at the crossroads next year. I will also make sure to send you a letter to let you know the date." Crowley finished saying, then turned to address Mark again, "Be careful on the way back and don't forget what I told you." And with that Crowley seemed to disappear into the darkness of the morning.

"Ready to go?" Mark turned in his saddle to look at Taryn.

"Yup." Taryn smiled and waited for him to lead the way out of the Gathering clearing. Mark moved his horse into a trot and Taryn followed as they made their way into the surrounding forest. The ride was a relaxing one. Mark wasn't very chatty like Will and Gilan had been, he let you decide if you wanted to talk and didn't push you if you weren't willing to start a conversation.

As the sun started to make its appearance to the world, Mark leaned back and asked, "Would you mind if we picked up the pace a little?" Taryn smiled at the older Ranger.

"Sure let's go!" She said as she signaled King's Storm in to the ground-eating canter that all Ranger horses could do. Passing Mark who had a surprised smile on his face, Taryn thought, "_**At this pace I'll be back before Jackson starts the afternoon training sessions." **_Smiling to herself she let her body and mind relax.

When the sun had finished rising, Mark called out to her saying, "Let's stop and eat before we continue any farther." Nodding to him she slowed her horses down and reached into her saddle pack only to remember that Halt had told her she didn't need to bring any food.

"Here take this" Mark said from beside her. Glancing up at him she saw a small package in his out stretched hand. Taking it she unwrapped it to see some dried meat and a chunk bread.

"Thank you, how did you know that I wouldn't have any food?" Taryn questioned him as she reached to grab a piece of jerky.

"Halt talked to me after you went to sleep last night." He explained as he ripped into a piece of bread.

"Well thank you again." She smiled at him. Finishing the food that the older Ranger had handed her, she waited for Mark to also finish before setting out on the road at a walk letting the horses and her body have a rest. _**"It's a beautiful day today. I wonder what Gilan is doing at this moment."**_ Little did she know Gilan was ridding with Halt and Will through the Solitary Plain tracking the Kalkara. Wondering what she was going to do when He came to visit, she was pulled out of her thoughts by Mark's hand on her arm. Looking over at him with a questioning look, he put a finger to his lips telling her to keep quit.

Whispering he said, "We are being followed." Raising her eyebrows in a 'what are we going to do', she went to turn around in her saddle intending to look for the person following them, when Mark cried out in both pain and surprise.

Looking back at him she could just see the point out an arrow sticking out if his chest. Making eye contact with Mark she could see the pain clearly written across his face as he started to slump forward in the saddle. Thinking quickly Taryn grabbed the reins to Marks horse all the while untying the lead to Tonalea and signaling King's Strom into a canter. Knowing that Tonalea would still follow but that King's Storm would no longer be hindered by the lack of space she moved the horses into a faster pace. Praying that Mark could hold on, she looked behind to see a horrible looking man with a wicked looking crossbow stepping out of the forest followed by another man who looked just as worse as the first on, stepping out with a long bow that was ready to be fired again. Glancing over at Mark, Taryn knew he was in no way, shape or form to be fighting, and not knowing where she was going, for this was not a part of the forest she recognized, she let the horses pick their way along the trail as they ran for their lives.

Coming out of the forest Taryn realized that they where near the cross roads that she had met Halt and Will at. Making for the road that lead into town she urged the horses even faster knowing Mark didn't have much time left. All of a sudden she felt a sharp stinging pain in her shoulder. Glancing back to see what it was she saw an arrow just like the one that was sticking out of Mark, sticking about 3 inches out of her right shoulder.

Feeling herself starting to fall into darkness she didn't feel the reins to Mark's horse slide out of her hands or see that they had finally reached the outskirts of town and the horses, sensing that they where in a safe place, had slowed down.

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><p>Garret was walking back to his house when he saw three horses trotting down the road with two riders. Not thinking anything of it till he say one of the riders fall from their horse and not get up, he ran up to the three horses. Finally making out the arrows and the blood he started calling for help. Other villagers hearing this cry came to investigate.<p>

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><p>Taryn was seeing dark spots in her vision and could hardly hear. She felt someone lifting her from her saddle and being laid down on the ground. People where yelling something about getting someone. Then darkness claimed her.<p>

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><p><strong>AN: Well here you guys go, another chapter come and gone, again I apologize for the lateness and shortness of this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it, and please don't hesitate to review. Also if you guys have any ideas on where you would like to see this story go please message me and let me know, and I'll try to work your ideas into the story line.<strong>


	7. Darkness and Questions

**AN: Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy and thanks to all the reviews and the ideas on the story, Please keep them coming!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Rangers Apprentice. I only own the figures of my imaginations and delusions. :) And now one to the story!**

Darkness. Voices speaking but no words could be heard. It was warm, and muggy, she felt overheated. Taryn could feel hands moving and touching her face and arms, a cool cloth being placed on her brow, trying to open her eyes to take in what was happening, she couldn't. "_**What is wrong? Why won't my eyes open? Did something happen? Why am I so warm, and yet I'm also cold. " **_ Thought Taryn, as she struggled to pry open her eyes. Nothing, she couldn't make anything work, she felt this heavy weight on her chest like she couldn't breath and her legs and arms felt like lead. Then she heard a voice that cut through all the darkness. "Let me see her! Taryn? Please wake up." A hand grabbed hers. "_**Jackson! I am awake! I just can't open my eyes." **_The words where in her mouth, but like her eyes she couldn't make it work. "What's wrong with her? Why isn't she waking up?" She heard Jackson ask someone. "It's a poison, we've given her the antidote but her body is taking too long to respond to it. She may not recover. The arrow pierced her shoulder but it wasn't just the arrowhead that was poisoned the shaft was as well." Someone had answered Jackson. "Taryn, you have to get better, you just have to. I don't know what I'd do without you. You're my training buddy and my best friend, please don't die." Jackson whispered into her hair.

"Jackson, its time you left, she needs to rest if she is going to get better. I'll send someone out to the farm to let you know if there's been any change." That person spoke again. Taryn could feel herself drifting again, fighting to stay 'awake' her breathing got heavier. "What's wrong why is she breathing heavier?" She could hear Jackson start to panic. "Get him out of here." Someone ordered, she could hear a struggle and someone grunting as Jackson was wrestled out of the room. Someone was holding her head and opening her mouth, she was being made to drink something, and it tasted horrible! Her body made to spit it out, but it just kept going back down her throat. "Come on please drink it. It will help you." That same someone whispered to her has the drink was still being poured into her mouth.

Finally it stopped and the cool hands left her face, only to return with a new cool rag.

Taryn felt her body relaxing, and her mind drifting. The haze was coming back, and the darkness was creeping in on her, the voices that she had been able to make out slowly turned to silence as she drifted into a deeper sleep.

Gilan was cantering down the road that lead from Halt's Cabin to Redmont Castle. He was thinking of a young pretty red head with striking blue eyes. This red head happened to be Taryn, the female horse trainer that he had met at the gathering. Slowing down from a canter to an easy walk, Gilan entered Redmont castle. He was here to let the Baron know that he was leaving to go back to his own fief and to drop off a report for Halt. Thinking about Halt as he made his way up the stairs to the Barons office, Gilan was very relived when he had finally gotten to the ruins of Gorlan to find that the Kalkara had been killed and that his mentor had managed to come out alive and for the most part unharmed. Knocking on the Baron's door he heard a gruff 'come in' before he pushed the door open. Gilan stopped in surprise when he saw the person sitting across from Baron Arald. It was Crowley. "Well are you just going to stand there like a stuck pig or are you going to come in and close the door." Crowley said as he sipped from a cup that could only contain one thing, coffee. Deciding that he wanted to know why the Ranger commandant was sitting in an office at Redmont verse on his way back to Castle Araluen, Gilan finished entering the office and closed the door. Waiting for Crowley to start speaking, Gilan walked over to the other empty chair and sat down. "Mark is dead." Three words, those three simple words shattered whatever good mood Gilan had. "What?" Gilan questioned "How is he dead? When? Wasn't he taking Taryn how? Is she ok?" The questioned seemed the flow right out of his mouth with no control.

"From what I can gather from the village reports she came riding into town like a mad women leading Mark's horse, when they where able to setting the horses down to were they could get to her and Mark, he was already to far gone and she had an arrow through her shoulder." Crowley explained to the Baron and Gilan. "I would like for you and Halt to go investigate what happened, we need to know how one of our own ended up dead and another is laying in the town infirmary close to dead." "What do you mean 'close to dead'?" Gilan again questioned. "Apparently the arrow was poisoned, the same poison was also found on the arrow that killed Mark. The healers are not sure if Taryn will make it or even wake up. I'm sorry Gilan, I know you and she had become friends. You will need to go and let Halt know so you too can leave as soon as possible, and take Will with you, he needs the practice." With that Crowley stood up and drained the last of the coffee that was in the cup and ghosted out of the office.

"Baron Arald this was a report that Halt had asked me to drop off before I left, now it seems as if it will be dropped off before I head back to Halts. I take my leave." "Of course Ranger Gilan, I hope you find out what happened to you two friends and my condolences." The Baron stood to take the offered report and shake Gilans hand in goodbye. "Thank you." With that Gilan made his was back down the stairs and into the courtyard where Blaze was waiting. "Well Blaze it's back to Halt's and then on to find out what happened to Mark, and Taryn." Turning and trotting out of the Castle he made his way down the same road that he had ridden earlier in such a good mood, now his mood was ominous and slightly worried.

**AN: I know it's short but I have a ton of homework that I have to get done, so I'm sorry and Hopefully I will be able to update later in the week. If not then the next chapter won't be up till the weekend. R&R!**


	8. Waking Up

**AN: Hey guy's sorry it's taken me so long to write another chapter, but I got slammed with last minute home work in all of my classes. 5 reports, 7 papers, and 8 bio quizzes. Yeah I had NO time to write. I stayed up late tonight to finish this little bit and get it posted for everyone. Once again I don't own any of the Ranger Apprentice series. And I hope you enfoy this next chapter.**

Taryn woke to a cool hand on her forehead. "Finally you are awake. We thought we were going to loose you for a while, you were not responding to the antidote." She glanced up at the person who was talking to her and as her eyes brought the face into focus she could make out the town healer, Aidan. She could smell the healing herbs that were wafting through the room. The calming smell of Chamomile could be smelled more strongly than anything. "Wha.." Taryn broke into a coughing spurt, "Shh don't try to speak until you drink something, your throat will be very dry." Aidans hand reached for a cup and helped Taryn drink from it. Tasting the Chamomile and a hint of honey, Taryn smiled in thanks before finishing what she had been asking. "What happened? Where's Mark?" Taryn sat up in the bed. "You were hit with an arrow, although it passed through you the shaft it's self was poisoned." Aidan stood up to go refill the cup. "You were found on the outskirts of town by a young boy named Garret, he was the one who carried you to my house. You had passed out and fallen from your horse." "My horses where are they? And you still didn't answer my question about Mark." Taryn asked as she waited for Aidan to turn around and come back to the chair that he had been sitting in. "Your horses are with your friend Jackson back at your farm. As for Mark, he's being taken care of." Aidan returned with the cup along with a bowl of what looked like broth or a soup of some kind. "Here see if you can try and eat something." Aidan said as he handed her the bowl and a spoon. Taking them from Aidan Taryn was great full for the food and glad that the horses where ok, still wondering about Mark she decided to wait until she had finished eating.

"Knock, knock." A voice sounded in the next room. "In here Audry. " Aidan called out. The door to the room was pushed open by a young girl around the age of 16, brown hair that was pulled into a half tail that fell to her shoulders framed a heart shaped face that held big green eyes that matched the dress that the girl was wearing. "I brought the White Willow Bark and the Devils Claw that you asked me to get Aidan." The young girl said as she walked into the room and headed strait for the table that was pushed up against the far wall. "Thank you Audry." Aidan replied as he stood to meet her at the table, opening the package that she had set there. "Oh your awake! I'm glad, Aidan and I didn't know if you would ever wake up. You where out for three days." Audry walked over and sat down in the chair that Aidan had just left. "Taryn I'd like you to meet Audry, my apprentice. Audry could you please bring me the mortar and pestle from my room." "Yes sir." Audry said as she roase to fetch what her mentor had requested. "She seems nice." Taryn said when the young girl had left. "Yes, she's a very eager student. Very willing to learn. The only thing is she gets to excited about little things like simple arrow through the shoulder." Aidan winked at Taryn as he started shifting throught the package of herbs. "Here you go Aidan." Audry returned to the room with the mortar and pestle. "Thank you Audry." "So Taryn how are you feeling? Any pain and sourness?" Audry turned and addressed Taryn with an eagerness that made Taryn smile, she remembered when she was an apprentice horse trained and approached everything with such eagerness before she started actually training a horse and found out that you need to have patience and a calm mood, not a hipper and energetic one.

"I'm doing pretty good, I don't feel any pain yet, but I'm sure it's only because Aidan slipped something in my drink when I woke up." Taryn smiled at Audry as she accused Aidan of drugging her. "Actully, it was in the soup." Aidan smiled as he started to grind the herbs up and put them in jars that where sitting on the shelves above the table. "You put it in the soup? I didn't know you could put it in a food." Audry said as she looked up at her mentor with wide eyes. "I normaly don't put it in food, but it would have tasted weird in with the Chamomile and honey tea, so I decided to put it in the soup, but only her bowl so the soup is still safe to eat for anyone else who would like to have some." Aidan said as he walked back over to stand next to the chair that Audry was sitting in. "Oh, well I guess that makes sense." Audry said. "So what are we going to do know Aidan, does she need her bandage changed or does she need another antidote for the poison?" "Sometime Audry all you have to do is sit and visit with your patient, the bandages won't need to be changed till tomorrow morning remember we only just changed them an hour before she woke up." Taryn laughed inwardly at the young apprentice, "_**So eager. Just wait till she see the really world and what it can do to people, she won't be so energetic after a couple more years."**_ Thought Taryn as she glanced in between the two healers.

"Oh, I can just sit and talk. What are we going to talk about?" Audry said as she sat up straighter in the chair. "How about finding out what Miss Taryn remembers before blacking out." Aidan said as he walked over to the other chair that was hiding by the door and pulling it over to the other side of the bed. "Um, I'm afraid that there isn't much that I remember about the shooting. I remember riding in the forest on my way back home and talking with Mark. I remember starting to fall into my thoughts when Mark put his hand on my arm and told me that we where being followed, then he cried out in pain and slumped forward. I grabbed his horse's reins and ran. I don't remember getting shot though." Taryn finished with a soft sigh of aggravation. "Did you happen to see the person or persons who shot at you and Mark?" Aidan asked. "No at lest I don't remember if I did or not, I'm sorry can we stop I'm getting rather sleepy." Taryn replied with a yawn. "Yes that's fine, Audry why don't you go get the sleeping drought ready and add a little of Devil's claw to it for her pain, I don't want her waking up in to middle of the night in pain after what I gave her earlier wares off." "Ok Aidan, do you want me to use the Chamomile from earlier or Valerian root?" Audry said as she stood and mad her way over to the table. "Valerian, it's stronger, and she'll sleep deeper." Aidan replied as he too stood and picked up the empty bowl and cup that had been used earlier. Audry made the drink in a flash, obviously having practiced that particular brew many times. "Here all done." Audry announced as she handed the mug to Aidan and took the bowl and cup from him and left the room, most likely putting them in the kitchen. "Drink it all, and don't try and spit it out, I know it taste horrible." Aidan commanded as he handed her the drink that smelled just as horrible as it looked and from what Aidan had just said tasted. "Bottoms up." Taryn managed to chock down all of the concoction. "That was awefull!" Taryn said as she tried to keep from throwing it back up. "I know, but it will help, trust me." Aidan said as he took back the mug and turned to leave the room. "Aidan?" "Yes." "Thank you for saving me." Taryn said as he paused at the door and turned. "Your welcome, but it wasn't just me, you would most likely never have made it to my house in time for the antidote had Garret not carried you here." "But still, thank you." "Your welcome. And sleep well." "Oh I will if what ever you forced me to drink does what it's supposed to do." Taryn smiled as he laughed and once again bid her good night and left the room.

**AN: Well there you go, Taryn finally woke up. She doesn't know that Mark is dead; Aidan didn't have the heart to tell her when she just woke up. Gilan will most likely show up in the next chapter or so. Hope you guys liked it and Please review. I only got one review from the last chapter. Also Devil's Claw and White Willow Bark are real herbs used for pain management. Chamomile and Valerian root are also real herbs used to help someone fall asleep and calm down. Don't believe me look it up on the Internet. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: First off, I would like to thank Ranger Lauren and Dawnpoolnot for being my only two reviewers. You really keep my spirits up. Second I would like to say I'm so sorry for how long it has taken me to update. With the holidays coming up and finals in college, I have been so busy. And my manager decided that since I didn't have class thanksgiving week that I could work every single day this week. Anyways sorry again for how long it has taken me to update. **

**Disclaimer: Again I don't own any of the Ranger Apprentice series.**

The sun was shining brightly outside when Taryn woke to a soft knock on the door. Still lying in bed she called out for the person to enter. Audry pushed to door open with her shoulder as she entered carrying a large serving tray that held a plate full of fresh bread, fresh fruit and something else that Taryn couldn't make out.

"Good morning! How did you sleep?" Audry asked as she crossed the room to set the tray on the table. "Morning, very well, I slept like a rock. What time is it anyway?" Taryn asked as she started to stretch forgetting about her shoulder wound.

"Ouch!" she cried. "Oh Miss Taryn you shouldn't have tried to stretch, you'll pull the stitching out." Audry said as she rushed over to Taryn and helped her sit up in the bed, then went around the bed to check her patients shoulder for any bleeding.

"Well you didn't pull any stiches out, but next time try not to stretch in the morning or even at all." Audry said when she finished her exam of the shoulder wound. "As for what time it is, it is around noon. Aidan told me not to wake you, to let you sleep till you woke up naturally."

"Around noon? I never sleep that late." Taryn was surprised, even when she gets a cold every now and again she never slept till noon; she would always wake up maybe an hour after she would normally get up.

"Well you are recovering from a very dangerous poison." Audry said as she walked back over to the table and picked up the tray of food. "Yeah, I guess. Where is Aidan?" Taryn asked as she watched Audry bring the food over to her.

"He's riding over to your farm to let your friend Jackson know that you're awake so he can come and see you. You know we had to kick him out because he was in the way all the time. Aidan finally told him to leave and that he would go get him if you woke up or didn't make it." Audry finished as she handed Taryn the plate holding the fresh fruit and bread.

"Oh, this looks so good." Taryn said when she received the plate. It held several strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and an apple. "This bread smells delicious."

"Thank you, I learned how to make it from my mother, but in my opinion she makes it better than I do. I didn't know which berry you like better so I just gave you a little of each one." Audry replied. "Well I like them all" Taryn said as she reached for a blueberry and popped it into her mouth.

Taryn sat eating her breakfast, while Audry asked questions about what Taryn did for a living. Taryn being more than willing to answer but still keep the trade secrets on how they train the horses answered her questions with out fail. Eventually the topic turn from horse training to general back ground questions like, where were you born, any siblings, pretty much anything along those lines.

Taryn learned that Audry was the youngest of eight children. She was also a twin, and that there where two other sets of twins in her family. She was one of three girls and never cared for girlish things until her eldest sister got married and she was one of the bridesmaids, after that it was dresses and bows for the rest of her years.

Audry learned that Taryn started learning how to trick ride when she was eight, finished her apprenticeship as a horse trainer when she was eighteen, two years earlier then normal. She also has a younger brother and sister who live with her parents near Castle Araluen. Never wears her hair down. It is always up in either a braid or a messy bun. Loves horses hence the apprenticeship choice.

Taryn and Audry talked most of the morning before Audry finally said that she must go gather the herbs from the garden before the sun rises any more or the herbs would be to dry for use.

"When do you think Aidan will be back?" Taryn asked as she lay back in the bed. "He should be back any time now, He said he would try to be back before noon." Audry said as the gathered up the plates and set them on the tray to be taken out when she left the room.

"Ok, when you go would you leave the door open please? I'm so tried of seeing these four walls." Taryn asked.

"You've only been awake for a morning and you are already feeling stir crazy, Goodness I would hate to see you when you where little on a rainy day." Audry laughed, as she obliged Taryn request. "When the door is open it looks out into the main room, you should be able to see when Aidan gets in."

"Thank you so much for breakfast Audry, and yes I admit I was quit the monster on a rainy day." Taryn smiled as Audry giggled and bid her a restful day.

The day wore on and on it seemed to Taryn as she lay in her bed with nothing to do but think and listen for when Aidan got back. With nothing to do, Taryn went over the events leading up to the shooting. Her thoughts kept going back to the handsome young Ranger who she met. Thinking back to the conversation they had before she left with Mark, she wondered if he was ok. Wondering if his mission had gone well and if he still wanted to come see her when he got back. Little did she know that said Ranger was on his way there at that very moment to investigate the shooting and death of a fellow Ranger.

Wondering when she would also be able to see Mark and ask him how he was feeling. Taryn was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear Aidan and Jackson enter the house until she was pulled into a bone-crushing hug that brought her back to earth.

"I'm so happy you are finally awake! Do you know how worried I've been? I've be loosing my mind, the only thing that kept me from really losing it was the fact that I still had to take care of the horses." Jackson rattled off so fast Taryn only really heard was 'loosing it and taking care of the horses'.

"I'm ok now Jackson, and I'm sorry I scared you." Taryn said as she hugged him back but with less force behind it as her shoulder was still healing. "Have you heard anything on how Mark is doing? I'd like to see him and talk with him." She asked as she pulled away from Jacksons hug.

"Oh, honey, Aidan didn't tell you?" Jackson said glancing back at Aidan who was standing in the doorway.

"I thought it better to tell her when you where here." Aidan said as he walked into the room and sat down in one of the bedside chairs. Jackson who was still sitting on the edge of the bed opted to stay there so he was close to Taryn for the news. Taryn sensed that the news, what ever it was, was not good news.

"Taryn, when you got to the village Mark had already lost too much blood for the arrow, it had pierced one of his lungs. He died a few minutes after you both arrived." Aidan explained softly to Taryn while he held on of her hands.

Taryn jerked back in grief. "What? NO, he can't be dead. He was still alive when I looked back at him before I got hit! He CAN'T be dead." She started to cry as she said this. Jackson gathered her up in his arms and he held her until she fell asleep.

"So Aidan? What do we do know?" Jackson asked as he laid Taryn back down in the bed and arranged the covers over her. When he finished that he took her hand and just held it, waiting for the Healer to answer him.

Aidan answered after a minute or so. "If our information is correct, the Ranger Corps will be sending someone to investigate the death. We need to lay low for a while, then when the Ranger leaves we can continue with our plans."

**AN: Dun Dun Dun. 0_0 what's going to happen? Hope you enjoyed it. I most likely will not be updating till after finals are done and over with, that will be at the end of November through to the first week of December. Then the store that I work at will be having it's Grand Opening and I most likely will be to tired in the evenings to even get on my computer so I probably will not be updating till around the middle of December. Hope you like this chapter, I know its kind of a filler chapter but I promise that it will make sense in the later chapters. Happy Thanksgiving! P.S feel free to message me with ideas on the story! Also I'm too tired to think up a name for this chapter so for now it's just Chapter 9.**


	10. Guilty

**AN: I'M SORRY! I know I told everyone that it would only be a few days/weeks before I updated and it's been months. Time got away from me, along with inspiration. But it's back all thanks to m best friend. So here's the next chapter. It's kinda short but it's all I could really think about, so for now this will have to do.**

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><p>It was a cold windy morning when Taryn was finally given the leave to return to her farm with Jackson. Per the healers orders she was not to lift anything for the next six weeks or so giving her shoulder a chance to heal, nor was she to do any heavy riding or training. So she settled with supervising Jackson with the rest of the training.<p>

Waking up after being told Mark was dead had Taryn feeling like she was in a nightmare. She couldn't stop thinking about the shooting and why she survived and not Mark. Aidan decided that before he sent her home he was going to give her something to deal with the stress and guilt.

"Taryn? Are you ready to go?" Jackson asked softly from the door to her room.

Taryn didn't reply she was to busy thinking about what the day held. Today was the burial of Mark. They had held off on the funeral until she was well enough and could be there. The town also had to wait on a Ranger to come take care of one of their own men.

Jackson crossed the room to sit on her bed beside her. Putting his hand gently on her arm he asked again. "Taryn, we need to get going. They aren't going to wait all day."

Taryn turned and looking at him with sad eyes, she nodded before moving to stand.

She really didn't feel up to going to a funeral but felt like she needed to say one last goodbye to Mark. He deserved better. He shouldn't have been killed.

Jackson who seemed to be reading her mind gripped her arms and turned her to face him and said in a stern voice. "Now you listen! I didn't come into this room to see my best friend wallowing in self-pity. You need to pull yourself together. Do you think that Ranger Mark would want to see you acting like this? No he would want you to be able to appreciate his memory and live the rest of your life."

Taryn finally spoke. "Jackson if I hadn't been to the Gathering, Mark would still be alive. If I had just said no to Ranger Crowley about the training, and stayed at the farm and continued with you, he would still be here."

Looking down as she said this, her posture told Jackson that she truly believed this that she thought that she was the one to blame. Taking her chin and lifting her head till their eyes met, he said "Taryn, I know you think that you're to blame for Marks death. But your not! The men who attacked you are. They are the ones who planed on attacking you two; They are the ones who fired the arrows at you and Mark, not me, not you, Them. There wasn't anything you could have done for Mark. Aidan tells me that he died only a few minutes after he was hit. He didn't suffer long especially with the poison that was coating the arrows. Aidan said that the place where he was hit would have gone numb almost instantly. He wouldn't have felt it for very long."

By the time Jackson had finished telling her this, tears where rolling down her cheeks. Taking his thumb and whipping them away he gathered her in his arms and let her continued crying. All the while muttering soft words of comfort to her through her hair.

"I just feel so guilty of the fact that I'm still alive and he's not. What will his family think of me? Here is the person that was with their son on the day he died and she's still here and their son is not." Taryn mumbled into her best friends chest. Clinching her fists on his back into his shirt as she clung to him.

"I don't know Tar, I don't have all the answers, but I can tell you this. I will always be here for you. I'm not going anywhere." He said as he let her cry on his best shirt. But what she didn't know was that he knew why she and Mark were attacked. And he knew why she was left alive instead of Mark.

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><p><strong>AN: I may write more today or on Monday or Tuesday, but for now cliffy! I hope to have more of Gilan in the next chapter, so see you soon! (Hopefully not in twothree months, once again I'm sorry for the long wait)**


	11. A Plot

**AN: Hey guys I have a new chapter for you! Hope you like it, it's a bit longer than the last one. **

**Diclaimer: I don't own any of the Rangers Apprentice stuff, the only thing I own is the books that I bought from Borders.**

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><p>Arriving later than they had planned due to Tayrn not being able to ride very fast, Jackson motioned for them to stop at one of the trees near the house. Dismounting he took the bridle off Meric and loosened the girth before turning to Tayrn.<p>

"Don't you dare try getting of that horse without my help." He said sending her a look that told her he meant business.

Tayrn paused before sending him an equally demanding look saying "I can do it by myself, thank you very much!"

"I think not," Jackson, said as he walked over to her and took the horses reins in his hands before continuing, "Do you see any step stool, no, you are not getting of that horse without my help. I don't want to have to deal with a hurting Tayrn, I remember during training when you broke your wrist from that one fall and I had to deal with you the entire time it healed. So don't give me any of this 'I can do it myself' stuff, okay!"

Tayrn let out a sigh of defeat before saying, "Fine, you can help me get off."

Jackson let go of Ahlerich's reins and moved farther down the horse's body so he could reach Taryn. Reaching up and wrapping an arm around Tayrn's waist, he slid her off, gently steading her against him and then setting her up right on her feet.

Taryn could feel the strength that Jackson used to keep her upright, when he had brought her down she had grabbed his upper arm to steady her against him. She could feel his muscles flexing as his arms where still wrapped around her. '_I never really noticed how strong he is. Maybe it's because I never really felt it.' _ She thought as she just stood there in his arms.

Jackson made no move to let go of Taryn. In his mind this is exactly where he wanted her. Where he could protect her and keep her safe, where he could make sure that what he wanted would come true.

Taryn looked up when she felt Jackson slightly tighten his arms aground her. Catching his eyes she saw something in them that had her thinking back to a conversation she had with an old friend about the way a man looks at you.

Pulling back and out of his arms she cleared her throat and said "Thank you Jack for helping me down. Lets head over before they start and pay our respects to his family."

Jackson could only nod, thinking about what had just happened or in his case what he could only wished had just happened.

"You go one ahead, I'll finish with the horses and meet you over there, lord knows you don't need to be straining yourself with unsaddling the horses." Jackson said, hoping she would take him up on the offer so he could clear his mind.

Smiling Taryn nodded patting Ahlerich on the neck before turning and heading over to the cabin that was a few yards away.

"What am I doing, I'm not supposed to fall in love with her." Jackson said to himself once Taryn was far enough away she wouldn't hear him talking to himself. "He said not to become attached with the target. If only she hadn't run then she would already be in his possession and I wouldn't have to worry about falling for her. Stupid Ranger wasn't supposed to be there. She was suppose be coming home alone, not with an escort."

Taking Ahlerich's reins and pulling them up over his ears and unstrapping the chinstrap he gently took the bridle of the old horse before reaching back to unchinch the girth. Grabbing the saddle and blanket in one he pulled them of the horses back and set it on end before turning to the old horse and petting his forelock, saying "I just have to play it cool, and make her feel safe, I'll move tonight, while she's still weak. Then all will be back on track."

All the while not realizing that the horses weren't the only ones listening to him. **(Almost though about ending it here, but decided to make it a little longer)**

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><p>As Taryn walked up to the cabin's open door she kept running through what she was going to say to Mark's family, 'Hi, I'm Taryn, I'm the reason that your son is dead.' or 'Hello, I was with your son on the day he died and I ran away and didn't try and help him.'<p>

"No none of those will work, Jackson said not to blame myself anymore." Taryn said under her breath. Walking up and knocking on the doorframe she noticed a familiar looking cloak among the people who were gathered in the smallish room.

"Please come in." Said an elderly woman who looked to be in her midsixties. The woman had greying hair that was pulled into a loose bun on top of her head. Taryn entered the room feeling a bit like she was on display. The woman who had spoken stood up from the chair that she had been sitting in and crossed the room to greet Taryn.

"My name is Agatha, this is my husband Warren." Agatha introduced herself and motioned to a man that was sitting across from someone Taryn couldn't make out because his back was turned away from her and his hood was pulled up. But she could tell that whoever it was it was a Ranger due to the clock he was wearing.

"I'm Taryn, my friend Jackson is getting our horses settled and will be coming in a few minutes." Taryn said as she shook hands with Agatha.

"Nice to meet you Taryn. If you're here because of the funeral, I'm afraid you're a bit too late. We changed the burial time to this morning. I'm sorry. I know you were wanting to be here for it." Agatha said as she crossed the room to sit back down in her chair.

The man who was seated across from warren stood up and turned finally showing Taryn his face. In one smooth motion he pulled his hood back to reveal the same grim face that she remembered and had come to respect.

"Hello Taryn." He said.

"Hello Halt."

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><p><strong>AN: OHHH whats going to happen? If ya'll have any ideas about what you would like to see as the story goes on, message me and let me know, also I apologize for the lack of Gilan in the last few chapters, I just felt like I needed to have more of a build up to when they meet again.<strong>


	12. Filling In The Blanks

**A.N. - Ok I am really sorry for how long it has taken me to update this story. Over a year, ouch! This chapter has been a long time coming, i started it pretty quickly after I last updated however life had different plans in store for me at the time. It wasn't until I got a review from one very helpful reviewer, follower and fav that I decide to dust off this chapter and hopefully finish it. So after spending the last 2 hours I finished the chapter and am now posting it for all my followers to enjoy. But before I do that I just want to say thank you to the reviewer who got me thinking about this story again, so thank you Milkytail. Also I wanted to say thank you to everyone else who has reviewed/followed/favorited this story during my leave of absents. And now on to the story.**

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><p>The forest was full of life that afternoon, you could hear the birds singing, rodents scampering threw the underbrush and squirrels chattering up in the trees, but the sound you couldn't hear was the sound of a well trained ranger making his way silently threw the trees. Staying hidden in the shadows that were cast upon the forest floor. He was silent as a mouse as he made his way to the edge of the forest and staying in the shadows was able to look out without being seen by the inhabitants of the farm that sat not far from the edge of the forest. The ranger silently waited for the better part of an hour before he saw two riders coming down the road that led to the farm.<p>

"_Ah, here they come."_ He though to himself, before making sure he couldn't be seen. If he were seen, it would ruin the whole mission that he and a fellow ranger were on. A mission that revolved around the two riders that were making their way up to the farmhouse, specifically around the young woman who was being helped off of her horse by her companion. Her companion was the focus of why he was currently hiding in the forests shadows verses meeting the young woman again in the farmhouse.

They had heard rumors of a man who was working for their enemy; it wasn't until a recent attack on one of their own that had conformed it. Only four people had known that she was going to be at the Gathering, out of those four people, two knew her true identity. He himself hadn't known when he had first met her. Now, thanks to a leak in they're midst, one of his fellow Rangers was dead. Staying low to the ground he made his way closer to where the man was talking to his horses. The man didn't suspect a thing; neither did his companion who didn't know that this person wasn't who he said he was. The horses, he suspected, would hear him and he hoped wouldn't give away his position, after all they were once in the corps themselves. Trusting in his ability to blend in the shadows and stay invisible and silent the man continued till he was within hearing of the man with the horses.

"What am I doing, I'm not supposed to fall in love with her." The man paused when he heard the other start to speak to himself and the horses.

"He said not to become attached with the target. If only she hadn't run then she would already be in his possession and I wouldn't have to worry about falling for her. Stupid Ranger wasn't supposed to be there. She was suppose be coming home alone, not with an escort." _What did he mean by this_, the hidden man wondered. Hoping that the other man would continue to speak the man waited patiently and his patience was rewarded.

"I just have to play it cool, and make her feel safe, I'll move tonight, while she's still weak. Then all will be back on track."

What he heard confirmed his suspicions. It was time to tell his old mentor what he had found out.

The man waited till the other had left to make his way to the house before silently fading back into the forest behind him. Leaving no trace of his presence behind, other than the two old Ranger horses that had known he was there the whole time.

Circling around the farmhouse till he was on the backside of the cabin, he quietly walked to the window that had been left open for him to slip into when he had finished his task. Slipping into the room that was dark except for the light coming from the window, he hurriedly changed into the Rangers dress uniform that had been laid out for him.

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><p>Taryn suddenly felt the warm atmosphere in the cabin drop. Looking between Halt and Marks parents she felt like she had walked in on an important conversation.<p>

Halt walked over to Taryn and motioned for her to follow him into another room in the cabin.

"Taryn, I need to know everything about the attack." Halt said grimly.

"I wrote to Crowley explaining everything when I woke up. Didn't he give you the letter or at least fill you in?" Taryn asked looking out the window to see Jackson still working on the horses.

"Yes, but I wanted to hear it from you." Halt answered her question.

Taryn started to speak before glancing over at Marks parents. "Maybe we should speak somewhere private?" she said looking back over at Halt. "I don't want to upset Agatha and Warren with the details."

Halt thought for a moment before nodding, then started across to the one of the door's that was along the west wall of the cabin.

Following Halt into the bedroom, for indeed that's what the room was, Taryn waited for Halt to close the door before he motioned for her to sit on the bed before he began to speak.

"Taryn do you know why Crowley picked you to come to the gathering instead of one of our other trainers?" Halt said while he leaned up against the wall across from the bed.

"I thought that is was because I was to supervise and assess the apprentices on their horses skills." Taryn said with a confused tone in her voice.

"Original it was for this purpose that you were pick, however it came to Crowley's attention that something was afoot involving on of our horse trainers. We had heard rumor that someone was selling secrets about how the ranger's horses are breed and trained. We needed to investigate further and you were coming to the gathering it gave us a perfect chance to find out more about you and see if you were the one providing our enemy's with these valuable secrets." Halt explained.

"Wait you think that I was the one telling other people how to train ranger horses!" Taryn said angrily standing up from her sitting position on the bed, "You can't be serious! I would never…"

"We know that now." Halt interrupted before Taryn could speak anymore. "Taryn, the attack on you and Mark was not a random attack against travelers. It was a target and a well thought out attack, you were the target, not Mark. Crowley and I were the only ones who knew the true reason of your coming to the gathering and we also believe that this attack was not just an attack. We believe that it was a botched attempt and kidnapping you."

All the while Halt was talking Taryn had started pacing back and forth. Once Halt was finished she turned back towards him. Whispering while she sunk back down onto the bed behind her, she said. "A kidnapping? Why would they want to kidnap me? I just train horses for a living."

"Exactly, you train horses. There are only a few people that can train a ranger's horse completely and you are one of those chosen few." Halt said right before there was a knock at the door. "Come in Gilan."

Gilan silently entered the bedroom before closing the door behind him just as silently. He didn't say anything as he crossed to the window that was on the wall across from the door. Silently he pulled the shutter that was on the outside of the house to cover the window before facing the two occupants that were looking at him expectantly.

"We need to move her to safety." Gilan finally said. peaking through the slightly covered window.

"Wait, move who?" Taryn said as she once again stood up from the bed.

"You." Halt said simply. "Gilan what did you gather?"

Gilan glanced back his old mentor before looking over at Taryn. "How long have you know your training partner?" he asked sharply.

Taken back by his sharp tone, she answered just as sharply, "Since the middle of my third year as an apprentice, I was 14 and he was 12. I was the one who showed him the ropes as a first year apprentice, we trained under the same mentor for a year and a half before I went to train under Ol'Bob for the rest of my apprenticeship. When I graduated and got the farm Jackson was the first person that I wanted to come work on the farm with me. Why?"

"Because," Gilan stated. "He's one of the ones behind your attempted kidnapping."

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><p><strong>Once again I end on a cliff. Sorry guys but it's getting late for me and I have to work in the morning and I would prefer if I wasn't half asleep when I show up to work tomorrow morning. Review and tell me what you think.<strong>


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